Sealed Crisper Assembly with Gasket Design for Humidity Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Standard crisper drawer designs in refrigerators fail to maintain or regulate humidity levels, leading to suboptimal preservation of food, particularly for sensitive items like leafy vegetables.
Innovation Solution
A crisper assembly with a crisper drawer featuring a track assembly for movement between retracted and extended positions, coupled with front and rear gaskets that contact the crisper drawer's walls and lip, effectively controlling relative humidity between 70% to 90% by preventing condensation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a standard crisper drawer design is used, then the device complexity is low, but the ability to maintain or regulate humidity is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies flexible gaskets (thin film elements) to seal the crisper drawer. The gaskets include a front gasket with a bubble portion and a rear gasket that contact specific surfaces of the crisper drawer to form a sealed environment. This allows humidity regulation through simple sealing mechanisms rather than complex active control systems, resolving the contradiction between reliability and device complexity.
2Reliability
If the crisper drawer open portion is not sealed, then the ease of operation is high, but the humidity regulation capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible gaskets are designed to seal the crisper drawer when closed while allowing easy opening and closing operations. The front gasket with its bubble portion and rear gasket contact specific surfaces to create an effective seal only when the drawer is in the closed position, maintaining both humidity control and operational ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing system transitions from a static sealed structure to a dynamic one where the gaskets flex and adapt based on the drawer position. When the drawer is closed, the gaskets compress to form a seal; when opened, they naturally separate, providing ease of operation while maintaining humidity control during storage.
3Reliability
If gaskets are added to seal the crisper drawer, then the humidity control improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses simple flexible gasket elements (front gasket with bubble portion and rear gasket) that can be easily attached to the crisper drawer. These thin film sealing elements provide effective humidity control without requiring complex mechanical or electronic systems, thus improving reliability while minimizing the increase in device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A crisper assembly for a refrigerator has a crisper drawer defining a crisper cavity within the crisper drawer wherein the crisper drawer has a front wall, two side walls, a back wall having a top lip, and a bottom surface. A track assembly is coupled to the crisper drawer and configured to movably attach the crisper drawer to the crisper assembly and movably support the crisper drawer for movement in a first direction between a retracted position and an extended position within a refrigeration compartment. A front gasket is coupled to a first receiving flange wherein the front gasket has a bubble portion that contacts the front wall of the crisper drawer. A rear gasket is coupled to a second receiving flange where the rear gasket contacts the top lip and the back wall of the crisper drawer.